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Perhaps the biggest pre-April milestone of the year has arrived: it's Red Sox pitchers and catchers day in Ft. Myers.
In reality, this day has become almost entirely symbolic. Yes, it's the day when all of Boston's pitchers and catchers are required to report to camp, but if you've been following the beat on Twitter or elsewhere, you'll know that the fields in Boston's spring training complex have been pretty crowded for a while now. Heck, we've already had our first injury "scare":
Jake peavy has a right ring finger irritation after being struck with a hit ball. The injury is not an issue according to John Farrell.
— Nick Cafardo (@nickcafardo) February 15, 2014
Season over!
In all seriousness, though, even if February 15's actual impact is greatly diminished, it still serves its purpose on the calendar as the start of baseball season. Boston itself may still be a frozen wasteland, but some thousand miles south the grass is green and the weather is perfect for baseball (73 degrees today, for those of us northerners who want to feel bad about our surroundings). A little less than two weeks from now the Red Sox will take the field for their first exhibition games, and begin the defense of their 2013 World Series championship.
Today is a good day.